


Sex And

by HC05



Series: aroverse [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Adult Discussions, Aromantic Character, Asexual Character, Other, alcohol and nightclubs show up be careful if you are triggered by alcohol/getting drunk, no explicit nsfw but mentions of sex, sicheng is alloaro, which is short for allosexual aromantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27615277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HC05/pseuds/HC05
Summary: Sicheng is aromantic
Series: aroverse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1925494
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Sex And

**Author's Note:**

> hello!!! i am extremely sorry for not posting in so long, i've been studying for exams and actually have 3 tomorrow as i'm posting this but haha do i care? aro sicheng is more important than physics 
> 
> anyway thank you for clicking on this, and i hope you enjoy nearly 10k of sicheng being aro and living his life!

Sicheng woke up in a bed that he knew wasn’t his. He saw Xuxi naked next to him. The flashbacks of last night flooded his head— he had sex with Xuxi again. Sicheng climbed out of the bed, and stretched his limbs. Xuxi was still asleep, so he ducked out of the room after getting dressed to inspect the rest of the house, making plans to leave as soon as possible.

The house was empty unlike last night. The kitchen and lounge was still a mess however, and Sicheng had to step over empty cans and random articles splayed across the floor. He poured himself a glass of water, while raiding the fridge for food. There were plates of food wrapped up, so he took the closest one and began eating it. 

Xuxi stumbled into the room moments later. Sicheng didn’t even notice them until they stretched and let out a loud yawn. 

“Oh, you’re still here.” They rubbed their face, taking a seat next to their friend, “What happened last night?”

“We fucked again.” Sicheng claimed, unfazed.

“Oh.” Xuxi replied casually.

Sicheng continued eating, unbothered by the silence that enveloped them. Eventually, someone else walked in and looked at them with a baffled expression.

“Are you eating my food?” 

“Yup, it’s really good by the way,” Sicheng said. 

The guy, Jaemin, huffed before stomping down the hallway. Sicheng has known Jaemin for years, they were good friends so he shrugged it off and kept eating. Xuxi was still sitting next to him, but they’d pull their phone out and distracted themself from the outside world with games.

Sicheng put the plate in Jaemin’s sink, and told his friend that he was going home now. Xuxi looked up from their phone with a dumbfounded expression.

“Do you want me to walk with you?” Sicheng watched them rapidly stand up and shove their phone into their pocket.

“Sure.” Sicheng smiled, patting his friends’ back before they walked out of the trashed house. Good luck cleaning this up Jaemin, Sicheng thought. 

Xuxi remained quiet as they walked, which was very unusual. Sicheng nudged them with a questioning look. The other looked up from staring at their feet, asking what was wrong.

“I should be asking what’s wrong,” Sicheng responded, “You seem down. Is everything ok?”

  
  
“Yeah. I just have news and I don’t know how to tell you.” Xuxi responded, rubbing the back of their neck.

“You can tell me anything Xuxi.” Sicheng responded, taking the younger boys’ hand and squeezing it, “We’re best friends after all.”

  
  
“I met someone.” 

Sicheng took a moment to register the words. Not feeling anything other than disappointment at the realisation that their hookups were coming to an end. Sicheng knew he could find someone else, but didn’t want to go through the process of explaining that he didn’t want a relationship beyond the sex all over again. 

It was a mess explaining it to Xuxi when they first met, and Sicheng was finally starting to get used to the familiarity of their relationship. Things like _this_ weren’t supposed to last, Sicheng reminded himself. 

“Does that mean what I think it means?” Sicheng asked.

“Well what do you think it means?”

  
  
“We can’t fuck anymore.” Sicheng’s bluntness never took Xuxi by surprise until now.

“Why is that the first thing your mind goes to?” Xuxi asked, hints of aggression hidden behind their words.

“I’m happy for you, if that’s what you wanted me to start with. But realistically, you’re only telling me to put a stop to our hookups, aren’t you?”

  
  
Xuxi sighed, “Yeah.”

  
  
Sicheng nodded, scuffing his shoes against the pavement. Xuxi’s steps didn’t have the usual bounce, causing Sicheng to grow a bit worried. The last time their friend met someone; before their sexual relationship began, their happiness showed in everything they did. Sicheng could tell this time was different.

“When did you meet them?”

“Two months ago.” Xuxi said, “We’ve been getting close, learning about each other, but we haven’t done anything yet. He’s really cool, and I want to take it further so I want to put a stop to this before he finds out.”

  
  
“That’s fine,” Sicheng said, “I really am happy for you by the way.”

  
  
They smiled, nudging him before telling the latter to stop being so cheesy. Sicheng laughed, wrapping an arm around his friend as they continued walking.

“Are you going to look for someone else to replace me?”

  
  
“No one can replace you Xuxi,” Sicheng said, “But yeah, maybe. It’ll be hard though. I don’t know if random gay guys are willing to just have sex.”

  
  
“I’m sure there are tons of guys out there who are just looking for sex.” Xuxi added.

“Yeah, but not for the same reason as me.” He replied, “They’re looking for either a one night stand or a connection that will lead to a relationship. I want neither of those.”

Xuxi sighed, patting Sicheng on the back. They’d stopped in front of Sicheng’s house, facing each other.

“I’m sure it won’t be too hard to find someone Sichengie.” They smiled, “Until then, it was fun but I’m glad we can just be friends again.”

  
  
Sicheng nodded, trekking towards his front door and slipping inside. Xuxi turned the other direction, walking to their own place. Sicheng’s roommate, Kun, was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping on a coffee. He looked up when Sicheng walked in, folding his newspaper and observing his friend.

“Another party?”

  
  
“With Xuxi as usual,” He replied, “Did you know that they might get a boyfriend?”

  
  
“Yeah I know,” Kun replied, “They came to me for advice.”

Sicheng dramatically placed a hand over his heart, collapsing onto the table. Kun scowled, moving his coffee so it wouldn’t spill. 

“I feel played, they never came to me for advice. Was I being used for sex?” Sicheng whined, clutching his heart.

“Shut up you loser.” Kun said, opening his newspaper again. Sicheng laughed, opening the fridge and preparing his breakfast. He eyed Kun as he waited for his toast to pop.

“How are you and Johnny?” Sicheng asked.

Kun kept his eyes on the newspaper, holding his mug in the other hand. “We’re good. He’s good, landed a new job at a coffee shop next to his flat so I get a discount on coffees sometimes.”

Sicheng smiled as his toast popped, buttering it while Kun rambled more about his fiancee. Johnny had proposed to Kun a few months ago, and for a while, their younger friends had teased Kun about not proposing first when he always drunkenly confessed that he wanted to marry Johnny. 

It was quite the scene whenever that happened. Sicheng had a few videos of it saved to his phone. 

He slid into the seat opposite Kun, biting into his peanut butter and jam toast. Kun had replaced his newspaper with his phone, smiling like a teenager in love, texting Johnny.

“Love is in the air…” Sicheng sang, laughing when Kun sent him an annoyed look. 

“I think he’s going to ask me to move in with him.” Kun said, “So I’ve started packing the things in my room into boxes.”

  
  
“So you’re moving out and leaving me alone?” Sicheng asked, placing a hand on his heart again, “Ugh. Why is everyone leaving me?”

  
  
He leaned back, rocking his chair as he whined. Kun smirked, finding amusement in his sarcasm but never wanting to admit it. When he focused on the elder again, the latter continued speaking.

“I don’t know when, but I’m going to bring it up to him and see where the conversation goes. I prefer his flat over this dump so I want to move in as soon as I can.”

  
  
“Ugh. I wish I could argue with you, but you’re right. This place is a dump.” Sicheng replied, “Maybe I’ll move in with Yangyang.”

  
  
“This place is better than Yangyang’s at least.” Kun shook his head, knitting his eyebrows together at the thought of Yangyang’s messy flat.

“They have a cleaner though, that’s better than the careless cleaning that goes on here only once a month.” Sicheng added, finishing his toast.

  
“I clean more than once a month.”

  
  
Sicheng shrugged, “Sure.”

  
  
He walked into his room after placing his plate in the dishwasher. The bed was neatly made, and he made a mental note to thank Kun for that later. He grabbed his laptop from his desk and flopped on his bed, opening the device and getting his Tinder profile up. His inbox had messages waiting for a response, so he clicked on the tab, hovering his finger over unopened conversations.

Most of them were asking for one night stands, so he ignored them, searching for a message worth responding to. He spotted one amidst all the thirst traps and invitations for threesomes, sent from someone by the name ‘Hendery’. The message was actually nice compared to the crude ones.

He responded to the invitation for a date with a no, explaining that he was aromantic and didn’t date, but was interested in consistent hook ups. He tapped the keyboard, waiting for a response. It came almost as soon as he sent the message. He had to read it multiple times, not believing what he was reading.

_‘Oh, I’m aromantic too so that’d actually be really cool! When do you want to meet up? ^__^’_

Sicheng didn’t know whether to be more intrigued by Hendery being aromantic or the emoticon he used at the end of his sentence. He ended up giving his number to Hendery, feeling a vibration in his pocket almost immediately. 

He closed his laptop, pulling his phone out to text the new boy. He was surprised that he found someone so fast, and even more surprised that he’d found another aromantic person. This was probably the first time he’d met an aromantic person before. Usually, he only came across asexuals who tried to relate. It wasn’t as hard to understand him as they made it seem, but he appreciated people who are so similar yet so different trying to relate on some level. 

His first interaction with someone about his aromanticism was interesting to put simply. It consisted of a quiz, and at least ten minutes of explaining that he didn’t care if saying he’s aromantic wouldn’t land him a girlfriend. He laughed in the persons’ face when their face turned white like a sheet after he stated that he was homosexual and wouldn’t be involved with girls either way.

After half an hour of non stop texting, he informed Hendery that he had things to do and needed to leave. The response he received was enough to make him wonder if Hendery was a thirteen year old hiding in a twenty year olds’ body.

He left his phone on the bed, exiting his room and gathering the clutter he left on the couch a few nights ago. He had work soon, but wanted to get the house in a bit of order before he left. Kun could be heard packing more boxes, and a small wave of sadness passed through Sicheng as he realised that people were moving on with their lives but he was still stuck. 

Xuxi had found someone and Kun was moving out to live with his fiancee. 

Sicheng didn’t want to make them feel bad for prioritising their relationships, but he felt stuck regardless. He knew he’d never end up like his friends and it taunted him. He wanted a relationship for the purpose of being normal, but he wasn’t normal and he couldn’t force himself into something that he didn’t actually want. He would be fine dating someone if they understood his boundaries and that he didn’t want a romantic relationship— but that was practically impossible.

Maybe Hendery would be the one to topple that impracticality.

“I’m off to work Kun!” Sicheng yelled, grabbing his possessions from his room before leaving. 

His car wasn’t exactly the best, it was in need of some servicing, but he didn’t have the money for that right now, so he drove slowly to avoid messing it up further. His work was a twenty minute drive away, but he left with thirty minutes up his sleeve so he wouldn’t be late. He turned the music up, driving with ease.

— 

Kun was moving today. Johnny, Yangyang and Sicheng were helping load the boxes into the back of Johnny’s car while Kun checked every box off a checklist. Sicheng knew Kun liked order, but labelling every box and making a checklist made him laugh because in roughly half an hour, the boxes would be at Johnny’s and the labels would go to waste. At least it would prevent Kun from forgetting anything, although the thought of him coming back to pick up forgotten items wasn’t something Sicheng was opposed to. 

The sky was especially blue on the Sunday afternoon, carrying boxes made Sicheng pick up a sweat so he removed his jacket, revealing the muscles on his arms. 

Today, he had a date planned with Hendery. They’d only been on one prior to now, and although Sicheng wasn’t romantically interested in him, date was the best word to describe the time they spent together. In his opinion, Hendery was a very flirty person, and it intrigued him. He’s only ever seen aromantic people in the media played off as cold, and outside of himself, Hendery is the first person to break that stereotype. Hendery was the complete opposite of cold, in fact, Sicheng felt like Hendery was slowly becoming one of his favourite people.

At their first date, Hendery had admitted that sex wasn’t something he’s done before, but he wanted to try after getting to know Sicheng better. He was fine with that. He didn’t expect himself to put intercourse on pause for Hendery, but found himself not looking for someone else in favour of waiting. He wanted to see where things would go, fascinated at having another aromantic person in his life to share intimate experiences with. Before Xuxi, all the people he’d had sex with weren’t understanding of him being aromantic. It took some explaining with Xuxi too, but they accepted him unlike the others.

Usually, the others would call off the sex before it’d even started, or they’d told him that he wasn’t a real human if he didn’t feel love. He laughed in their face every time a comment like that was made, wondering if they knew that love outside of romance existed. 

“I think that’s everything.” Kun announced, closing the boot door. Yangyang looked tired, while Johnny was beaming. He must be super excited for Kun to be moving in after months of being engaged. Sicheng wondered why they didn’t do it sooner honestly, but he was also glad to have a roommate for an extra few months. He didn’t know how he’d survive without Kun now.

“Well, I’m going home then.” Yangyang announced, “I’ve got video games waiting for me and stupid uni assignments.”

  
  
Kun laughed, “Do the uni work first.”

  
  
Yangyang rolled their eyes, nodding their head before jumping into their car after hugging everyone, speeding off into the day. Johnny looked between them, a cute smile plastered on his face. Sicheng realised they were ready to leave, and once they leave, he’d be alone.

“It was nice living with you bud.” Kun said, patting his arm. Sicheng smiled, pulling Kun into a hug.

“You better still come over for Saturday night movie marathons.” He whispered.

Kun laughed, making sure to promise Sicheng that he would. Johnny gave Sicheng a hug while Kun got into the car, thanking him for taking care of Kun while they lived together. Sicheng brushed off his words, telling him that it was Kun looking after him. 

They said their final goodbyes, before climbing into Johnny’s car and driving off, ready to start their new chapter. Sicheng sighed, watching them drive off, before looking around at his empty driveway. Sadness filled him for a bit, before he lugged himself inside, looking at the half empty flat.

It was time to redecorate. 

He spent the rest of his afternoon shuffling the couches around, pulling picture frames down to replace the photos, rearranging the layout of the kitchen and finally, pulling out paint cans that Kun had stored in their garage to repaint the walls of his bedroom. He had lots of posters, polaroids and framed photos on the walls so he spent the half hour taking them down before laying newspaper everywhere.

Just as he was ready to begin painting, his phone rang. 

It was Hendery. 

He swore a couple of times, remembering that he had a date with him literally right now. He answered awkwardly, feeling extremely bad that he wasn’t anywhere near prepared while Hendery was waiting outside for him.

“Hey Hendery.” He said, “Look, I’m really sorry but I got distracted redecorating my house so I’m not ready at all to go out on a date. I just pulled out the paint and am ready to paint the walls of my bedroom. Are you outside?”

  
  
Hendery was outside, waiting for him. Sicheng invited him in, apologising again for forgetting about the date.

“It’s fine.” Hendery shrugged, “Did you say something about painting your bedroom? Maybe I can help.”

  
  
“Oh.” Sicheng pondered on the thought, “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Let’s go.”

  
  
They walked into his bedroom, stepping carefully on the newspaper so it wouldn’t scrunch or tear. Sicheng ran to his garage, pulling out another paintbrush for Hendery, rushing back inside to begin painting as soon as possible.

They painted the walls together, maintaining a comfortable conversation as Hendery’s music played in the background. He’d insisted on putting music on to fill the air if they got silent, Sicheng didn’t mind, Hendery’s choice of music was actually really good. Sicheng found himself nodding his head to the beat sometimes. 

He was having fun — definitely more fun than he would’ve had alone. He was grateful for Hendery, but didn’t know how to express that. He didn’t want to tell the boy that he was lonely and appreciated his company, in case Hendery interpreted it as him solely appreciating it for the sake of not being alone. It wasn’t like that though; he genuinely likes Hendery’s company. He wanted Hendery around, he was a good friend. 

“Wanna take a break?” Sicheng asked after they’d painted half of the walls in his room. Hendery sighed, putting the paintbrush down, following him into the kitchen.

“It looks different.” Hendery said, “You moved things around?”

  
  
Sicheng nodded, “Kun moved out so I decided to change things up. Make it feel like a fresh start.”

  
  
“So you’re living alone right now?”

  
  
Sicheng nodded again, looking at Hendery weirdly for a moment. They continued sipping on the drinks Sicheng brought out, basking in a bit of silence. Hendery looked like he was thinking intensely about something for a moment.

“Hey Sicheng, have you ever heard of a queerplatonic relationship?” 

“Nope, I haven’t. Why?”

“No reason.” Hendery bluffed, waving his hand to dismiss himself. Sicheng furrowed his eyebrows, eyeing Hendery suspiciously, before deciding to let it go. He’d just search up what it is later.

They finished their drinks and went back to painting. Hendery put his music back on and they painted for the rest of the afternoon, time dripping into nighttime. They finished and admired their work for a bit, before Hendery decided it would be best for him to go home. Sicheng waved him off, packing the paint materials up but leaving the newspaper there. He decided that he’d sleep in Kun’s old room tonight.

He started cooking dinner, feeling the loneliness drip back in. He wondered if getting a pet would help this void. He’d always wanted a cat, but knew the house was not cat proof and would cost too much for that to happen. He decided then and there that he’d start saving up.

He ate dinner on the couch, blinds closed and TV as loud as he could handle to fill the uncomfortable silence that filled the house. He hoped Kun and Johnny were having a fun night together, and wherever his other friends were, he hoped they were having a nice night too. He didn’t want any of them to feel lonely like he did. 

When the show he was watching came to an end and his plate was empty, he locked the front door and turned the lights off, migrating into Kun’s room. He brought his laptop with him, laying down on the empty bed and opening his search bar.

Hours later, he found himself delved deep into websites explaining queerplatonic relationships. He thought they were cool, but they didn’t exactly excite him like he initially thought they would when he read that they were made for aromantic people. It was a bit weird to him to be in a relationship with someone no matter what attraction status. Maybe he was the weird one. 

He closed his laptop, and got up to find blankets to cover the bed that Kun had stripped. The room felt extremely empty when he laid down again, closing the door and turning the light off. He felt too alone, the prospect was scaring him. Kun’s room felt too unfamiliar to sleep in, so half an hour later, he found himself crawling under his own covers, sighing into the familiar bed sheets. He still felt alone, but he felt better in his own bed.

— 

He was at work when it happened. Hendery walked in with someone, not knowing that Sicheng saw him walk in from where he was stacking shelves. He tried to ignore Hendery, not wanting to interrupt a personal trip. 

His ears pricked up when he heard the conversation between the couple.

“Are you going to talk to that boy again?” The guy whose name Sicheng didn’t know asked.

Hendery nodded his head, “I don’t think he wants anything except a friendship with occasional sex though. I don’t know how to tell him that I’m also asexual and still awkward with the presence of sex, so things are a bit awkward right now. I’m avoiding him for the time being.”

  
  
“What was his name again?”

  
  
“Sicheng.”

  
  
He walked to the back before Hendery could see him, disappearing behind the doors and taking a seat, replaying the conversation in his head. He felt bad that Hendery didn’t know how to come out to him, and he hoped it wasn’t due to him talking about wanting sex from the moment they started talking. 

If he’d known that Hendery might not have wanted it, he definitely wouldn’t have mentioned it. He stopped mentioning it when Hendery told him that he wanted to get to know Sicheng more first, so he hoped that maybe he could sit Hendery down and explain everything that he heard. His manager walked in, making him go back to work. He complied, keeping his eye out for Hendery and his friend, praying that they wouldn’t catch him in between aisles. 

It occurred to him moments later that they’d probably left already. 

  
  
  


When he got home, he changed his clothes and got back into his car, driving to his local gym. Working out was his escape from his life. He used it to stay fit, but mostly to clear his head and feel refreshed. The gym was relatively empty besides a few teenage girls on treadmills or lifting weights. He went straight to where he always goes; the incline press. Once the girls left, he took over a treadmill, plugging earphones into his ear and looking out the window as he ran. 

When he got home, he showered and searched for takeout delivery places on his phone. The cheapest delivery place that was nearby was the Japanese shop Johnny used to bring over for Kun on their date nights. He dialled the restaurant to place his order, running through his chosen delivery options before hanging up. 

He grabbed his laptop, sitting on the couch and working on his overdue finances. Ever since Kun moved out, he’s had to figure out how to pay these things himself, with a bit of help from his parents over the phone.

The doorbell rang after he’d paid a few bills and transferred money from bank account to bank account. He paid for the food, rushing to the kitchen to grab cutlery before heading back to the couch. He left his food on the dinner table, and grabbed his laptop, bringing it to the table with him. There he ate his food, paying more bills and constantly checking how much money was left in his account. 

When he finished both his bills and food, he checked his work roster and closed his laptop again. He sat at the table for a bit longer, pondering on the conversation he overheard with Hendery and his friend. 

His phone was pulled out, as his finger hovered itself over Hendery’s contact number before giving up and locking his phone again. He didn’t want to deal with that right now. 

Instead, he grabbed his keys, locking the front door before driving off to the nearest nightclub. The outside lights were bright and beamed through the evening. The volume of the place from the waiting line Sicheng was currently in made him smile, he was going to get drunk and forget his worries, not caring about how he’d get home. He hoped he’d end up going home with a handsome man instead of waiting to become sober so he could drive himself back to his lonely flat.

When he entered, the aroma hit his nose and made him grimace. It stunk of alcohol. He trudged past the half naked people on the dance floor, to sit by the bar, ordering himself a shot of vodka. It didn’t take long before someone slid into the seat beside him and introduced themselves. 

“Hey,” He said, “Can I buy you a drink?”

  
  
Sicheng nodded, smiling at the man. He was definitely Sicheng’s age, or close to it, and he didn’t seem like he’d drug Sicheng or something of the sort. His face was too kind for that, but again, Sicheng wasn’t going to be too careful.

“What’s your name?” The man asked.

“I’m Sicheng. What’s your name?”

  
  
“I’m Ten.” He said, smiling cutely. “Do you want to go home with me later?”

  
  
“Diving right in I see.” Sicheng laughed, thanking Ten for the drink before sipping slowly on it. It was bitter, but he liked it.

“Well, I said later so we can get to know each other here. I’m being as careful as you are.”

  
  
Sicheng smiled, “Well, sure. But I’ll have you know that I just want sex, no stupid romance.”

  
  
Ten laughed, “Wait, you’re not being serious are you?” Sicheng rolled his eyes. _Here we go again._

“I’m being serious Ten. No romance for me, sorry.”

  
  
“Oh no that’s fine,” Ten interrupted, shifting his weight onto the bench in front of them, “Are you aromantic by any chance?”

  
  
“How’d you know?” Sicheng bluffed, honestly too tipsy to really care. Ten seemed like a decent guy, and Sicheng really wanted to know what he looked like without those clothes on.

  
  
“Well, isn’t no romance what aromantic is all about?” Ten asked, swirling his drink around.

“Not all the time, but yeah for me it is.” Sicheng ordered another drink, not caring about the headache he’d endure tomorrow. He had absolutely no plans tomorrow, so he didn’t care about a hangover at that point in time.

“That’s cool. My cousin is asexual and aromantic actually.” Ten said, “Anyway, do you still want to have sex later?”

  
  
Sicheng laughed at the bluntness, “Yeah, I do.”

  
  
“Cool.” Ten smiled, biting his bottom lip with all his teeth. Sicheng wondered if he was trying to be attractive or if that’s how he smiles. Either way it was attractive.

They talked more, downing drinks as the music pounded through their ears. Sicheng had switched from alcohol to water, wanting to sober up before he went home with Ten. The club was getting more filled as time passed, and the humidity was rising. 

Eventually, Ten stood up, asking Sicheng if he wanted to leave now. He nodded, following Ten out of the club into the cold air of the night. The breeze was actually nice, in contrast to the insufferable heart inside the bar. Ten guided him to his car, opening the door for him, walking to the drivers side after Sicheng was in safely. Sicheng didn’t feel unsafe, so he took that as a good sign to trust Ten. 

“Hey, I have a question.” Sicheng said as Ten drove, “What’s your cousins’ name?”

  
  
“Hendery, why?”

  
  
Sicheng felt his stomach drop. He didn’t know whether to feel sick or not. Here he was, about to have sex with the cousin of the man he was originally going to have sex with. Ten didn’t notice his behaviour, too focused on driving. Sicheng swallowed his thoughts, brushing off his question before Ten could question him further.

“Wait a second.” Ten said as they pulled into his driveway, “You’re the guy Hendery keeps talking about, aren’t you?”

  
  
Sicheng swallowed, “Maybe.”

  
  
“Well, I don’t know if we can still have sex now.”

  
  
“Why not? Hendery doesn’t want sex with me.” Sicheng felt dirty saying that. He felt like he was betraying Hendery almost. His desperation for sex shouldn’t make him this desperate. He swallowed when Ten’s hand reached for his thigh.

“I want to have sex just as much as you do, but I can’t if my cousin is interested in you.”

  
  
“What the fuck do you mean interested in me? If he wanted a queerplatonic relationship or whatever the hell he wants, then he should go ahead and tell me instead of getting in the way of my sex life.” Sicheng snapped.

He found himself beneath Ten’s sheets after that statement. The elder boy realised how sexually frustrated Sicheng was, and dragged him into his bed to help ease that, knowing Hendery, all in all, wouldn’t care. After all, his cousin had the chance to get Sicheng and hadn’t taken it so a one night stand wouldn’t hurt either of them. Just like that saying goes; a little fun never hurt anyone.

— 

Sicheng woke up the next morning, unfamiliarity flooding him along with a headache. He wasn’t in his bed again, beside him laid a sleeping Ten. He remembered the events of last night, feeling a rush at the possibility of having a new person to turn to when he needed intercourse. He climbed out of bed, noticing Ten was still asleep and gathered his things, grabbing the nearest paper to write his number down before leaving the room.

He started the walk back to the nightclub, where his car was. It was still early morning, the cold air hitting him violently as he paced down the avenue. He pulled his phone out, taking a deep breath before dialling Hendery.

“Hello?” The sleepy voice answered. Sicheng realised it was too early for this, but it was too late to turn back now.

“I had sex with your cousin.” He blurted out.

“You what?” Hendery said, “Which one?”

  
  
“Ten.” 

“Oh.” Hendery whispered.

“Sorry for calling so early.” Sicheng mumbled, pausing his walk to lean against someone’s fence and kick the stones around him, “I know you’re asexual by the way. I overheard you telling your friend at my work, sorry for not telling you. I know asexuals can still have sex, but if you didn’t want to do that, I wish you knew that you could’ve told me and I would’ve been fine with it.”

  
  
“I do want to have sex with you though.” Hendery replied, his soft voice replaced with a stronger tone, “I just needed time Sicheng— I told you that. I wanted it, just for different reasons.”

  
  
Sicheng went silent, unsure on where to go from there. Hendery sighed on the other side, mumbling something in Cantonese that Sicheng couldn’t understand.

“Can I come over?” Sicheng asked.

“I have work in an hour. Maybe later. Text me when you’re free.” Hendery said, hanging up before Sicheng could say anything more. He sighed, shoving his phone into his pocket before continuing his walk to the nightclub. Frustrated tears spilled out, running down his cheek, when he finally got into his car, he slammed the door shut and threw himself onto the wheel, letting the tears turn to small sobs. When he gathered himself again, Xuxi was standing outside his car door, knocking on the window.

“What do you want?” Sicheng asked, pulling his window down. Xuxi worked at the nightclub on night shift, so Sicheng wasn’t surprised to see them there.

“Saw you crying from down the street, wanted to make sure you’re okay.” They said, climbing into the passenger seat, “Now what’s wrong?”

  
  
“I don’t know. Just needed a good cry I guess.” 

“I know there’s more to the story than that, but if you don’t want to talk, how about we swap seats and I drive you home?” Sicheng looked at his friend, melting when he saw the love in their eyes. He complaisantly got out of the car so Xuxi could take over the drivers’ seat, driving him home in silence. Sicheng rested his head on the window, suddenly missing home and wondering if he could visit although his boss definitely wouldn’t give him time off in the middle of the year.

Xuxi came inside with him, admiring the new decor, to make sure he was okay on his own. The house was cold, ever since Kun moved out it hadn’t been as warm as usual, Sicheng reminded himself to pay the heating bill later. They stood in the kitchen, watching their friend begin to cook breakfast.

  
“Do you want to stay for breakfast?” 

Xuxi rolled on the balls of their feet, shrugging, “I guess I can.”

  
  
Sicheng nodded, silently relieved for the company. It’d been a while since he’d seen Xuxi, he wondered how their life was going without him as a constant. The time passed leisurely, allowing enough conversation for the two to get caught up in each others’ life.

“How’s the new person?” Sicheng asked, taking a seat opposite Xuxi, placing their plates down.

“Yeah it’s going really good. Our one month anniversary is coming up soon.” Xuxi said, a lingering smile on their face. “How about you?”

  
  
Sicheng shrugged, “Not much has happened. I had sex with a new guy last night though.”

  
  
“You had a one night stand?”

He let out a sigh, shrugging again. He didn’t want it to be a one night stand, but that’s probably what it was and there wasn’t anything he could do about that, especially when Ten is Hendery’s cousin.

“It’s messy to put it simply.” Sicheng said, “He’s cousins with a guy I met on Tinder who wants to have sex only after getting to know me, so I’m a bit stumped on what to do.”

  
  
Xuxi looked at him, analysing him, for a moment. The air stood still as they held eye contact with each other, speaking with their eyes. They’d been friends for so long, sometimes words weren’t needed. Sicheng broke eye contact, digging into his food instead.

“You’ll figure it out.” They said, “You always do.”  
  
  


Sicheng didn’t see Xuxi again for weeks, at his work, walking hand in hand with who he assumed was the guy they were dating. He felt a bit flat that they hadn’t introduced their partner to Sicheng yet, but considered the fact that Xuxi probably didn’t want their partner to meet him after the history they have together. It still hurt a bit, after all, Xuxi was his best friend. 

He stood by the register, scanning the customers’ items like a robot, wishing for his shift to be over already. He wanted to go home and curl under blankets on his couch, eating to his hearts’ content with his favourite drama playing in the background. Instead, he was stuck in this huge facility with no familiarity surrounding him, other than Xuxi who was walking towards his register with a smile across their face.

“Hi Sicheng!” They greeted, squeezing their partners’ hand before placing their things on the conveyor belt.

“Hey Xuxi, how are you?” Sicheng mustered up a smile, scanning the items as quickly as possible. The other guy stood around awkwardly, looking back and forth between himself and Xuxi.

“I’m doing good. This is Xiaojun by the way! My boyfriend.” Xuxi’s smile grew wider at that sentence, and Sicheng’s smile became real. He greeted Xiaojun politely, placing their things into bags before sending them off with a wave. 

His shift seeped into the night, finally clocking off around ten o’clock, finding his car among the array of vehicles in the car park. He drove home with the music blasting his walls, hating how quiet his workplace was. He needed noise. 

He opened his front door, finding Kun and Johnny sitting at his kitchen table. They looked at him with smiles, pity hidden behind their kind eyes.

“What are you guys doing here?” He was overjoyed, hugging Johnny after squeezing Kun in a tight hug.

“We came for a visit. Plus it’s Saturday, it’s movie marathon time.” Kun beamed. Sicheng grinned widely, feeling a tinge of disappointment in himself for forgetting, but brushing it aside because he’d been dying for company. He missed the movie marathons he used to have with Kun. It was just an added bonus that Johnny was tagging along too.

“Wait, I know it’s late but can I invite someone?” He asked.

Kun shrugged, “This is your place now, of course you can invite someone.”

  
  
Sicheng smiled to say thanks, rushing to his room to deposit his things, before dialling Hendery. After a quick chat, the younger man agreed to come over. Ten o’clock on a Saturday wasn’t late for them anymore, Sundays were their sleep in days after all.

Sicheng situated himself on the couch, turning the lights off, watching Kun and Johnny sit side by side. After deciding a movie, there was a knock on the front door and Sicheng was opening the door to let Hendery in. He smiled at Sicheng, before taking a seat next to him on the couch. 

He introduced Hendery to the others, showing the youngest the movie they planned on watching first before inserting the disk in his television and turning it on. Hendery leaned his head on the couches’ armrest, sighing as the plot revolved around romance. Kun was the one who suggested it, insisting that it was good. Sicheng thought it was good, but the main character pining over someone who didn’t treat them right didn’t sit well with him; after all, he’d seen this movie before when Kun was still living with him.

Hendery suggested the second movie, giggling when they put it on and realised that it was definitely not targeted for their age range. They watched it anyway, enjoying the break from romance to focus on teenagers discovering their superpowers. Kun and Johnny left after the third movie, stating that being out past two o’clock in the morning would wear them down if they kept it up. Sicheng was left with Hendery, who awkwardly shifted off the couch.

“I should head home too.” He said. Sicheng didn’t argue with that, so Hendery left after saying goodbye. 

Sicheng locked the front door, turning the television off before trudging to his room, curling under the sheets. He fell asleep soundly, listening to the soft thump of his heart. 

— 

He woke up to the ringing of his phone, pulling it out of his pocket and grunting into it. He sat up, brushing his hair off his forehead as he listened to the person on the other side.

“Hey, it’s Ten. It’s a bit early, but I was wondering if you wanted to come over again. Hendery is here, and I’m forcing you two to figure things out.”

  
  
“What the hell is there to even figure out?” Sicheng groaned.

  
“Just come over idiot.” Ten said, hanging up. Sicheng climbed out of bed, hitting the showers, knowing he had no choice but to go over. He didn’t even understand how Ten was so aware of the situation despite only meeting him once. It seemed that Hendery talked about him a lot.

He found himself sitting on Ten’s couch half an hour later, besides Hendery, while Ten stood in front of both of them, beginning his lecture. Sicheng honestly wasn’t listening, but everything Ten was saying still registered in his head, there was nothing to distract his ears from Ten’s voice.

“So what do you say?” Ten said, looking at Sicheng specifically.

“What?”

  
  
Ten facepalmed, mumbling curses under his breath. Hendery let out a laugh from nervousness, wondering why he was even here. He looked between the cousins, deciding in his head that he was utterly fucked getting involved with both of them. 

“Hendery, you’re on your own now.” Ten said, leaving the room.

Hendery sighed, “I want a queerplatonic relationship with you Sicheng. If you don’t want one with me, that’s fine, please be honest.”

  
  
“I don’t want one with you, I’m sorry. Relationships just aren’t my forte at all, no matter if they’re romantic or not.”

  
  
Hendery nodded, “That’s cool. I’m glad we cleared that up. Also if you want to continue having sex with Ten, I’m fine with that, don’t let me get in the way of that.”

  
  
Sicheng laughed to ease the awkwardness, thanking Hendery. Ten walked in after they finished discussing other details, telling them they can stay and help him clean or leave now. Sicheng chose to stay, but Hendery left, saying he had stuff to do. Sicheng cleaned Ten’s kitchen with him, talking amongst each other to learn more about each other. 

He felt like he was having fun for the first time without the stress of a relationship hovering over his head. He didn’t blame Hendery for that, but he was grateful that he could be around Ten with no questions raised about a status. 

“You’re really easy to read, you know?” Ten said, out of the blue.

“What do you mean?” Sicheng asked, absentmindedly, packing dishes away. Ten wiped the counter as he continued talking.

“You’re lonely, I can tell, and you turn to sex to fulfill that. Plus you blame your loneliness on being aromantic and not wanting a relationship because society has drilled in your head that you need to end up with someone.”

  
  
Sicheng wondered for a moment if Ten was a spy, because how else could he accurately know so much about Sicheng after a few days of knowing him? Sicheng was too shocked to speak, Ten saw that as an invitation to continue.

“You live alone, don’t you?”

  
  
Sicheng nodded, stacking plates.

“Have you ever considered getting a roommate?” He asked.

“I had one, but he moved out to live with his fiancee.” Sicheng said.

Ten paused his wiping for a moment, leaning against the bench, playing with the cloth in his hands as he stared at Sicheng. He continued stacking plates to put away, using every fiber in his body to avoid meeting Ten’s eyes, not knowing what turn in the conversation that would cause.

“Do you want to move in with me?” Ten asked, a grin sneaking onto his face.

“What?” Sicheng stopped what he was doing and met Ten’s eye. 

“I asked if you want to move in with me, or if you want to stay here on nights that you’re lonely.”

Sicheng pondered on the thought for a bit, not knowing if he could answer straight away. He’d love the company, but he wasn’t so sure about leaving his house so soon, besides, he had no idea how to sell it. Kun would definitely help him if it came down for that.

“I don’t know. It’s a bit soon Ten, we just met.” Sicheng answered, fiddling with his fingers.

“Makes sense.” Ten went back to cleaning, “But think about it, alright? Even if you don’t want to move in, you’re welcome to stay over whenever you want.”

  
  
“Thank you Ten, really, I appreciate it.” Sicheng smiled. 

“No problem.” Ten replied, the atmosphere becoming silent again as they cleaned the kitchen. Ten sat down at his dinner table, while Sicheng stood near it, awkwardly. He thought he should leave, but he didn’t want to quite yet, plus he had nothing to do at home today. Without thinking into it too much, he took a seat opposite Ten, relaxing into the chair. 

They chatted amongst each other, unaware of minutes turning into hours.

— 

“You want to move in with this guy you met at the nightclub Xuxi works at?” Kun asked, expression feigning that Sicheng was either drunk or out of his mind.

“We’ve been talking for over a month or so, and he isn’t just some guy I met at a nightclub. He actually— understands me. Much more than others have within the first month of being friends.” Sicheng explained, watching Kun’s expression relax from across his kitchen table. 

They were back in Sicheng’s place, talking about what’ll happen to this apartment if Sicheng were to move out. He suggested selling it to uni kids who were just starting uni, as a nice gesture, but Kun was hesitant. He wanted to keep the place as storage; something about how when he and Johnny have kids, they’re going to need two houses to fit all the accumulated junk they’ve gathered over the years of being together. 

Johnny wasn’t here, once again, busy at work. Sicheng was starting to wonder if Johnny would be this busy when they have kids— if they have kids. Kun has only spoken about the possibility in the foreseeable future, but hasn’t confirmed if he wants to go down that road any time soon. Sicheng honestly couldn’t see them having kids, their schedules were too busy to fit in more responsibility. 

As they were talking, Kun ordered lunch from their favourite Indian restaurant located across the street of Sicheng’s work, as they always used to on Sundays whenever they were too lazy to cook. The food provided from that eatery was some of the best food Sicheng had in his entire life, and he realised ever since Kun moved out, he’s been forgetting to go over there.

“So, how long until you move out?”

  
  
He shrugged, “I don’t think Ten expects me to move in anytime soon. He literally offered within the first few days of knowing me, but I sort of turned it down, explaining that we just met. I think that pushed the idea under the rug for good— but I’ll mention it to him next time I see him.”

“What happened to that other guy?” Kun asked, wondering if Sicheng was open to talk about it.

“Hendery?” Sicheng asked, earning a nod, “He and I are still friends, but he doesn’t want to have sex, so Ten and I are doing that instead.”

  
  
“Do you see yourself settling with either of them?”

  
  
“I don’t know what you mean by settling, because you know I don’t do that, but maybe.” He shrugged again. 

Was it even important? He didn’t need to settle if he didn’t want to— settling down with a partner was a concept that made him itch. It was too restricting. He was happy with the way his “love life” if it could be described that; was. He liked Ten in the same way he liked other people, and enjoyed the sex he provided. Sicheng was happy with just that, and no romance.

“Well, I think if you decide to move in with him, you should take that chance of settling.” Kun mumbled after a few minutes. Sicheng could tell he was just trying to be a good friend, offering advice like he always did, but Kun being alloromantic had its downfalls. He had no idea what he was talking about.

“Thanks, but I’m fine with the way things are.” Sicheng responded, smiling to ease Kun’s obvious worries for his friend. He wanted to understand what the fuss behind settling with someone was, and why it caused worry, but he also knew the answer wouldn’t excite him.

The knock at the door interrupted them from discussing the topic further. 

They sat around his table, eating until half the food was gone. Once they’d finished eating, Sicheng wondered if he’d ever be able to eat something different again. 

“I guess I’ll be heading off then,” Kun said after Sicheng packed away the leftovers in his nearly empty fridge. 

“Already?”

“Yeah, I’ve got housework to do and I don’t want to do it when Johnny’s there,” Kun said, “He likes to interrupt me whenever I’m doing it, and it results in me never getting it done.” 

Sicheng pulled a face, “Okay, I get it. Details not needed. Get outta here.”

  
  
Kun laughed, patting Sicheng on the back before making his way to the door. Sicheng watched his friend leave before pulling his phone out to check for any notifications.

“See you next Saturday!” Kun yelled before the door slammed shut. 

Sicheng wanted to yell back that he’d be busy, but decided it’s best to just text him throughout the week. Kun probably had plans better than coming back to this dump and watching the same movies again over a bucket of stale popcorn. It was the thought that counted though, and Sicheng knew Kun too well to say that he’d ever miss their movie marathons. 

His phone buzzed after he’d set it down, not having any prior notifications except from Tinder. He’d been meaning to delete that app now that he had Ten. It was a text from Xuxi that interrupted him from rummaging through his fridge for something to cook tonight.

He planned on ignoring the text, until another came through, and another.

The texts read, ‘ _Are you busy?_ ’ and ‘ _I have work tonight but it’d be cool to see you there so we can hang out._ ’ and finally, ‘ _Unless you have other plans?_ ’

He texted back that he’d be there, before turning his phone on silent and closing his fridge. Dinner would be at the stinkiest, yet greatest club in the area.

The club was the same as it was the last month Sicheng was there. It stunk, but the alcohol was amazing as usual. He took a seat by the bar like he always does, waiting for Xuxi to approach him.

“Hey.” Xuxi slid in front of him, cleaning a glass between their hands. “You got here fast. I’m still waiting for the others to join.”

  
  
“Others?”

“Xiaojun is coming, and he’s bringing some friends. I forgot their names, but I think it’s Minghao and Junhui? They’ll be here soon and you can get acquainted.” Xuxi said before winking and walking off. 

He watched the younger clean shot cups and distribute drinks to the other drunk men spread across the counter. He pulled his phone out after releasing a yawn, noticing a text from Ten that intrigued him.

‘ _Busy tonight?_ ’ There was a winky face after the question mark that Sicheng stared at for a few moments before smirking. He texted back that he was, but he could escape whenever Ten wanted him to. 

Ten asked if he could come over soon, complaining about how long it’s been since they saw each other. It’d been a few weeks, and Sicheng was starting to feel the loneliness crawl up on him again during nights at his flat, but he’d been so busy, it was almost impossible to fit time in to see Ten; let alone have sex with him.

‘ _A bit sick tonight, maybe another night._ ’ He typed before putting his phone away. As if time was on his side, Xiaojun walked in with two people behind him. 

Xuxi broke away from the customer they were dealing with to usher the three over, telling them to take a seat beside Sicheng. Sicheng watched Xiaojun willingly sit next to him, smiling through his quiet introduction.

“This is Minghao and Junhui.” Xiaojun said, “Minghao, Junhui, Xuxi, my boyfriend and Sicheng, their friend.”

  
  
“Hey guys.” Xuxi said, “Welcome. Do you want drinks?”

  
  
Sicheng watched them interact, sipping quietly on his drink. Although Xiaojun was beside him, he still felt distant from the others. Suddenly his mind drifted to Hendery, and how he hasn’t seen Hendery in weeks.

The younger made him feel comforted unlike anyone, even if he preferred Ten’s presence. Something irked inside him that made him stand up, telling Xuxi he wasn’t feeling well and would come back another night.

“Oh, ok, do you want a ride home?”

“No it’s okay, you’re working, and I drove here with my car.” He said, farewelling the others before speed walking out of the club.

He drove to Hendery’s place, finding that the place wasn’t lit up like he thought it’d be. He prayed Hendery wasn’t asleep yet as he climbed up the stairs to his apartment door.

The rummaging he heard after he knocked was enough to indicate that Hendery was still up. Sicheng watched the door open to show a weary looking Hendery.

“What are you doing here?”

  
  
“It’s been too long since we’ve seen each other, and I started to miss you.”

  
  
Hendery smiled, “Come in.”   
  
  


Sicheng sat on the couch, looking around, thanking Hendery who handed him a cup of coffee before sitting down himself.

“Did you actually miss me or are you here for something?” Hendery asked.

“I missed you,” Sicheng sighed, “And Ten wants me to go over for sex, and I’m just not feeling like doing that tonight. I just want to talk to someone who gets me, you know?”

  
  
“I suppose I’m the person who has to get you.” Hendery said, sipping his coffee.

“When you say it like that, it sounds like I’m forcing you to be here.” Sicheng let out a guilty laugh that was more awkward than anything.

  
  
“This is my house,” He responded, “And I didn’t mean to make it sound like that. What’s on your mind?”

  
  
“Do you ever wonder why society was formed around excluding aromantic people? Like, why was romance made so important that despite me knowing I don’t like people romantically, it’s still a goal I pray to achieve?”

  
  
“Well, to answer the first question is quite simple. Society is obsessed with romance and the concept of it, and because of that, we’re left to feel obliged to also be obsessed with it. To be honest, I still like romance, but not feeling it is annoying. I’ve always wanted to date, just never found it anywhere.”

  
  
“I hate when people take that statement and say things like, ‘don’t worry, you’ll find someone’. As if I care about that.”

Hendery laughed at his bluntness, putting his coffee aside.

“I hate when they ask something like, ‘are you sure you’ve never liked someone? Not even a little? Or when they ask how we’ll manage when we’re older without a partner to settle with.”

  
  
Sicheng threw his head back, letting a sigh out at the familiarity of the accounts. 

“You’ve never talked about this stuff with someone before, haven’t you?” Hendery said.

“You’re the first aromantic I’ve met, other than myself of course.”

  
  
“Damn really? That sounds lonely, who’d you figure yourself out with no other aromantics in your life?”

  
  
“The internet.” Sicheng responded, “And the first time I had sex, I knew I didn’t like the person romantically but I loved their dick in me.”

  
  
“Jesus Sicheng, a bit TMI.” Hendery cringed. Sicheng laughed, offering a small apology.

“I guess over time I just realised that I was aromantic. It wasn’t one of those ‘oh this is definitely me’ realisations as soon as I heard the word, it was more like learning the meaning of the word and months later realising, ‘oh hey, that word I learnt ages ago? Yeah that’s me.”

“I feel like we’re the complete opposites in that aspect.” Hendery said, “I grew up with my sisters always asking me about partners, they were nice enough to not limit my attraction to girls though. It’s just funny because despite growing up being allowed to like whoever I want, I’m someone who doesn’t like people in the way others want me to. Anyway, I knew when I was around fifteen that I was asexual after my sister introduced her asexual boyfriend to the family. He and I used to play video games together a lot, and he taught me what it was and across a few months, I began to accept that I was asexual too.” Hendery rambled, watching Sicheng watch him closely, listening to every word, “The aromantic part was much harder. It was always hard for me to accept that I’m not romantically attracted to people, and even now it gets hard sometimes.”

“Is it because you experience tertiary attractions?” Sicheng asked, remembering the term created within the aromantic community in the knack of time.

“Yeah, that part confused me a bit too though. I definitely feel those attractions, but sometimes it’s hard to know whether it’s that or whether it’s romantic attraction and I’m just faking everything.”

  
  
Sicheng laid his hand on top of Hendery’s, “If you think you’re faking, you’re most likely not. Being scared that you’re not something you think you are is usually just an internalised phobia towards that identity.”

Hendery nodded, “I’ve never heard it put that way, but that makes a lot of sense. Thank you Sicheng.”

“Despite that, is there anything else that contributed to making it hard to figure out your aromanticism?”

“Definitely people who think I’m cold or invalid for it. The internet is the worst when it comes to accepting asexual and aromantic people, I don’t understand it. In real life, we just get erased and then on the internet, people who don’t know anything about our identities think they can tell us we’re not even human."

  
  
“I hate people like that.” Sicheng said, “It’s always the ones who say things like, ‘asexuals aren’t oppressed’ who go around harassing asexuals and literally hating on us whilst saying we don’t get hate, and I say ‘we’ because despite not being asexual everyone treats aromantics as asexuals instead of our own identity.”

  
  
“Yeah, that’s probably why I feel closer to the aromantic community than the asexual community because even within the asexual community, aromantics get erased or ridiculed and it’s ridiculous. There’s so many alloaces who don’t understand aromanticism but expect aromantics to understand asexuality, and that bugs me. You can’t expect something if you aren’t giving it in return. It makes it so hard to feel comfortable saying I’m aroace, instead of just ace in asexual only spaces.”

“I haven’t been in asexual spaces much, probably due to that, but I think lots of asexual just try to relate but they don’t really understand how to. It’s almost like when allos try to understand aromantics and asexuals without actually learning what our identities mean.”

“I’ve never been able to have such a deep discussion about this before.” Hendery said.

“I thought you said you’ve met aromantic people before.”

  
  
“I have, but I never talked about this stuff so in depth. This is fun, I like it.”

  
  
“Well, we could be here all night with all the topics I have to unfold.” Sicheng laughed.

They continued talking, listening to each others’ opinions and complaints as the hours ticked on. Sicheng found himself growing more and more passionate about the topics as Hendery offered his opinion and let Sicheng ramble on about his.

As midnight neared, Sicheng thanked Tinder for introducing him to Hendery.  
  


**Author's Note:**

> please comment if you want a chapter 2 :] and thanks for reading, please leave kudos!
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/aurensle?s=21) [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/aurensle)


End file.
